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Halloween Food for Children

Halloween food for children is about more than the sweets they pick up while trick-or-treating. Many parents host Halloween parties during this time of year, and the food can add to the overall holiday appeal of the party. The key is to keep it spooky without going overboard. Keep in mind the fear factor should be well below the planning involved for an adult Halloween party. Get the children to have fun, not need therapy afterwards.

Spooky and Sweet

You know you can’t go wrong with Halloween foods for children when there are sweets involved. Though they may round up plenty of goodies during their trick-or-treating, make some home baked treats. The easiest option is to decorate cupcakes in a clever manner, and there are plenty of alternative ways to do this. You can use icing on a plate to give the appearance of spider legs with the cupcake being the spider body and maybe a little red hourglass on the cupcake for a black widow. Icing can make spider webs, ghosts or use stencils to get into more intricate designs.

If you want to do an entire cake instead, there are also several options. The two most popular are the “graveyard cake” and the “worms in dirt.” Worms in dirt may not be spooky, but it is gross and a great choice of Halloween foods for children. The first layer is Jell-O with gummy worms, topped with crumbled cookies for dirt. Add a few gummy worms protruding from the “dirt” for extra fun.

The graveyard cake is however you would like to interpret it, but the general idea is to create a cemetery. Use cookie crumbles for dirt or green icing for grass, and whichever type of cookie you would like to create tombstones. Marshmallows or whipped cream make great ghosts. Just remember, using extra touches such as plastic spiders, may not be a good idea for younger children. Make sure to keep choking hazards out of the food planning.

Frightening Foods

A fairly easy but delicious treat is a variation of pigs in a blanket. Instead of wrapping the dough around the entire hot dog, wrap it like a strip of cloth winding around to create a mummy effect. Leave a slit of dog exposed and use two mustard or ketchup dots for eyes. This same idea can be applied to mini pizzas, too. Arrange the shredded cheese to look like strips of bandages with an “opening” at the eyes. Once the pizzas are cooked, or before they are done, use olive slivers for eyeballs.

For ghostly snacks as part of Halloween foods for kids, consider using potato skins. Use a thin layer of sour cream like “icing” to paint the potatoes white and then use scallions to add eyes and a mouth to individual ghosties. Slice hot dogs length ways in slivers to create a “worm” effect. Mix the cooked hot dog slices with ketchup and add to a hoagie roll or bun for a tapeworm sandwich.

Edible Scares with a Healthy Twist

For the ultimate in “finger foods”, create a look that resembles real fingers. Carrots or string cheese sticks make a great looking finger, especially if you have the extra time to carve some lines to make “knuckles.” Get creative with fingernails. For example use red or green bell pepper slivers for a monster hand look. Optional tip: create a dip to go with the snacks and arrange the “fingers” to look like a real hand reaching back from inside the bowl.

Of course any variation of a deviled egg with an olive twist can create the look of an eyeball. Using olives in halves or slices and with or without the pimento can actually turn a variety of foods into eyeball looking treats.

Get the Party Started

In the end, it is really more about the overall party than just the snacks. Keep in mind ways to add games, a costume contest and some ghost story telling for a holiday event that will be unforgettable. Consider the ages of the children who will be attending and make sure the scare factor and food items are age appropriate.

Decorating is also another detail not to overlook. Add some fake spider webs and jack-o’-lanterns to the room and help create a real mood for the party. Download some spooky but fun holiday tunes or find a CD with creepy noises or songs to get all the kids in the Halloween party mind frame. While Halloween foods for kids can help add to a holiday party, the other details help truly make it one.

Halloween Drinks for Children – Punch Bowl Classics and More

When throwing a holiday party for the little ones, Halloween drinks for children are a must. While it may be easier to find some great cocktail recipes for adults, some of those concoctions can also be made without the alcohol for a kid-friendly version. The simplest thing to do is make a punch bowl the centerpiece of the foods table and be ready to refill it as it gets low.

Gross and Ghastly Halloween Drinks for Children

“Rotten Apple Cider” is a popular favorite around Halloween, and just needs a little prep the day before the party. Depending on how much punch you want to make, most recipes call for using five cupcake tins or trays in the prep. Each of these gets filled with cider and 2 drops of red and one drop of green food coloring, and then stir. Hang 2 worms within each cup, with some of the gummy worm dangling over the side, and freeze. These wormy “cups” can either be added to plain apple cider in a punch bowl, or in individual glasses.

Another holiday punch classic is the “Squirmy, Wormy Punch.” This one calls for a day before prep step, too. So, just keep that in mind for your Halloween party planning. Freeze some gummy worm ice cubes the day before. Then, blend up a swampy looking concoction using Lemon-Lime Kool Aid, orange juice concentrate, ginger ale, sugar and water in your punch bowl. Add the cubes and top with a few scoops of orange sherbet, and you will have a mucky, yucky looking but great tasting beverage.

Also, the “Bloody Buggy Punch” is a fun Halloween beverage for a group. This punch tends to be a favorite of parents too, as it uses fruits. This one requires starting by mashing full strawberries in a bowl using a fork. Then mix the strawberries, ginger ale and lemonade in a pitcher. Put a handful or two of blueberries and raisins in the bottom of the glasses and pour the mixture over top of the fruits acting as “bugs.” It tastes good, is healthy and still looks terrible, which is the perfect combination for any Halloween beverage.

Seasonal Treats versus Halloween Sweets

Want Halloween drinks for kids with more of a season theme than a Halloween twist? For something tasty suiting for this time of year, but without the yuck factor, try pumpkin smoothies. It’s like the classic, seasonal pumpkin pie without the baking. It uses canned pumpkin, vanilla yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, a bit of honey and some ice cubes. All the ingredients get blended and poured into glasses with an optional dab of whipped cream or yogurt on top.

The other option, instead of a smoothie, would be a milkshake. Use a frozen banana, peeled and divided into smaller sections, and add to orange juice concentrate, pumpkin puree and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt and water for a blended treat.

Extra Special Tips for Your Halloween Drinks for Kids

Extra details can add that much gorier pizzazz to your holiday punch. Peeled grapes are great for floating eyeballs, and as you may have noticed from the above recipes, gummy worms can be added to almost any drink idea for some gross out appeal. You can also make glasses look like they have bloody rims. Mix red food color with corn syrup or honey and then glaze the glass rims with enough mixture to enable it to drip down the glass. The clean up can be a little more involved, but is worth the added effect.

To make floating hands, freeze water in a disposable glove, the kind without the powdered lining, and simply cut it off before serving and add to the punch bowl. You can either add one or several floating hand cubes, or have one standing up and protruding from the center of the bowl. Normally ice cubes with fake bugs frozen inside would be a great detail, but when working with kids it is better to do away with any potential choking hazards.

Set the Mood

The perfect Halloween party should include snacks, music and games as well to create a holiday party feel. Have a Halloween costume contest, maybe tell some spooky ghost stories and, above all else, have fun and be safe. Keep games, foods, drinks, ghost tales and anything else appropriate to the ages of the children attending. There’s more to creating a holiday party than just the Halloween drinks for children, but it can all come together for perfection.